The Ancestors of Rain

can be foundat the bottomof our dry well,past the pvc coatingand roots white asthe space between dreams,through layers of soilarranged like clothesfolded for a journey.The ancestors of rainare the fossilof a thin horse that,parched, lickedthe pool of its own shadowuntil it drowned;the bouquet of nailsin Noah’s mouthas he trued his craft;the thunderheads thatgather in my father’s kneesor the table of boneat the center of the earthunderneath whicheels spin like gearsof the black machinethat, far off,feeds the horizonthe ocean.